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While Ethereum (ETH) is at a pivotal crossroads, some analysts suggest that a reclaim of a key resistance could open the door to a massive breakout. However, others have raised questions about the altcoin’s next move amid the recent market volatility and weak signals. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces ‘Most Critical Week In Months’ Amid $76,000 Retest – Should Investors Worry? Ethereum Breakout: ‘A Matter Of When’ Ethereum has found a new price range after turning the $2,250 level into support during the April market recovery. The cryptocurrency has been trading between the $2,250-$2,400 levels over the past few weeks, reaching a three-month high of $2,465 on April 17. In an X post, analyst Michaël van de Poppe highlighted ETH’s recent performance, asserting that its upward price pattern held, despite the price being rejected from the $2,400 resistance, a key psychological and technical barrier that has stopped prior rallies. As he explained, “Structure remains intact, and multiple resistance tests have failed to break through, suggesting a breakout is looming.” To him, a breakout from the local resistance area is “a matter of when (…) and not if.” The analyst recently stated that the King of Altcoins could be “about to follow Bitcoin in the path upwards,” which would open the gate for a retest of the next crucial resistance around the $2,700 area. Meanwhile, market observer Ali Martinez shared an analysis based on the MVRV pricing bands, noting that Ethereum has been attempting to reclaim its Realized Price, currently at $2,335, as support. He explained that successfully turning this level into a support floor is a “standard technical prerequisite” for a sustained rally, and reclaiming the cost basis has historically helped build the momentum to reach the 2.4MVRV pricing band at the $5,600 mark. According to the post, ETH needs continuation of the strength seen during the early April recovery rally to reclaim its Realized Price and open the gates to a 140% rally over time. “If ETH can claim this $2,335 level and establish it as a support floor, it creates the structural conditions to target that upper $5,600 band,” he affirmed. ETH Weakness Risks 17% Correction On Wednesday morning, Ethereum attempted to recover from the start-of-the-week price drop and reclaim the $2,300 area. Amid this performance, Crypto Batman highlighted that ETH had broken down from a two-week pennant pattern after losing the $2,320 support line, suggesting that the short-term trend had shifted bearish. The analyst cautioned that failing to reclaim the bullish trendline and the bearish FVG would open the door for lower levels. Similarly, Ted Pillows warned that Ethereum has shown weakness amid the current rally, highlighting that it needs to reclaim the $2,400 area for a strong continuation. On the contrary, failure to reclaim this level risks turning the current pump into exit liquidity, he affirmed, potentially triggering another sharp pullback. The market watcher also stated that ETH could see a considerable decline over the next few days due to Wednesday’s FOMC meeting. Related Reading: Bitcoin Set For $88,000? Analysts Forecast May Breakout After Key Weekly Close Notably, the King of Altcoins has retraced after each meeting since October 2025, dropping 17% to 42% in the following days. After today’s meeting, the altcoin fell to a two-week low of $2,220, recording a 5% intraday drop before slightly recovering. If history repeats itself, Ethereum could lose the $2,200 support and potentially target the $2,000 psychological barrier for the first time in a month. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Galaxy Digital reported a tough start to the year as crypto prices fell and market values broadly contracted. In its first-quarter (Q1) results, the company reported a net loss of $216 million while the total crypto market capitalization slid by roughly 20% during the same period.  Despite that difficult environment, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz said in an interview with Bloomberg that Hyperliquid (HYPE) helped the company avoid even worse outcomes. Galaxy Digital Q1 Snapshot In Galaxy’s Q1 2026 reporting, the company attributed the net loss primarily to the depreciation of digital asset prices over the quarter. The firm also posted an adjusted gross loss of $88 million, along with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $188 million. On a per-share basis, Galaxy reported diluted and adjusted EPS of $0.49.  Even with the losses, Galaxy Digital ended the quarter with a solid balance sheet, including total equity of $2.8 billion and cash plus stablecoin holdings totaling $2.6 billion as of March 31, 2026. The company said it ended Q1 with approximately $5 billion in assets under management and $3.2 billion in assets under stake.  Related Reading: XRP $10 By 2027? Top Expert Flags Two Must-Happen Catalysts For A Bull Run At the same time, the firm reported that its asset management segment generated $69 million in net inflows across the quarter, suggesting demand still existed even as pricing pressure weighed on performance. Novogratz’s comments focused on how Galaxy Digital managed risk and exposure while markets moved against crypto. He said the balance sheet “lost money because crypto prices were down,” but argued Galaxy “way outperformed” what would have happened if it had not taken steps to adjust its positions.  Hyperliquid As The ‘Future Of Crypto’? According to Novogratz, the company cut some positions and shifted a significant portion of its level two exposure into Hyperliquid. He described Hyperliquid as one of the tokens he has discussed previously and indicated that the platform’s structure stands out in the sector. In explaining the reasoning behind Galaxy’s support, Novogratz said he backed Hyperliquid “mostly because it’s got an economic model,” contrasting it with other tokens he described as being more “association tokens.”  The executive added that Hyperliquid provides a way to look at what the future of crypto could look like, framing it as a more substantive approach compared with projects that function differently. Galaxy Digital’s relationship with Hyperliquid goes beyond investment interest. The company has significant exposure to Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, and it also acts as a validator on the network.  Bitcoin Over $100,000 Again? Novogratz also addressed Bitcoin’s (BTC) current price action. He noted that if Bitcoin manages to climb back above $100,000, it may still be difficult for the asset to sustain that level depending on broader economic conditions.  Related Reading: Solana Prepares For The Quantum Era: Foundation Details Step-By-Step Transition He pointed out that to reach that price “you’re going to need a few things to happen,” and emphasized that easing from central banks would be central to the equation. However, he cautioned that macroeconomic pressures are unlikely to ease quickly, citing inflation concerns tied to current events.  Galaxy Digital CEO referenced the war in Iran and said “we’ve got some pretty ugly inflation prints that are going to come through the pipeline,” adding that, in his view, “I don’t think the Fed does anything but sits and watches.” Despite the quarterly loss, Galaxy Digital’s stock (trading under the ticker symbol GLXY) surged around 4% during Tuesday’s trading session, reaching $26 per share. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid’s native token saw a 5% loss and retraced to $39.  Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin’s valuation against gold has dropped to one of its lowest levels on record — a signal that, historically, has shown up near major market bottoms. Related Reading: Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Could Be Near As White House Signals Major Update A Pattern Worth Watching That’s one of the key observations from crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe, who believes Bitcoin is building toward new all-time highs before the year is out. Van de Poppe points to the relationship between Bitcoin and gold as a telling sign. When gold rallies hard, Bitcoin often lags. But once gold peaks, Bitcoin has tended to catch up — and then some. That rotation, he argues, may already be in motion. His broader case rests on more than just one metric. The Sharpe ratio — a measure of return relative to risk — is currently sitting at levels that mirror past bear market floors: 2015, 2018, and 2022. Each of those periods was followed by significant price recoveries. Based on that pattern, van de Poppe believes Bitcoin is undervalued right now and offers a strong risk-reward setup for long-term investors. Short-term dips, he said, remain possible. But the overall structure of the market, in his view, points higher. Key Price Levels To Watch Bitcoin recently hit a 12-week high before pulling back. It is now working to hold above the $77,000 mark. According to van de Poppe, $79,000 is the critical resistance line. A clean break above it would open the door to a move between $86,000 and $95,000. From there, $110,000 becomes the next target over a six-month window. On the downside, $73,500 is the level to watch. If that support holds, the uptrend stays intact. If it breaks, a deeper retest could come before any renewed push higher. Data shows that Bitcoin dropped close to $60,000 back in February before snapping back sharply — a move that caught many traders off guard. That kind of recovery against bearish sentiment is not unusual in past cycles, reports note. Related Reading: Trump Memecoin Gala Leaves Crypto Battling Fresh Credibility Crisis A Big Target For Year’s End The long-range call is the one drawing the most attention. Van de Poppe sees Bitcoin reaching between $150,000 and $160,000 by late 2026 — a level that would represent new all-time high territory. He bases that projection on historical cycle behavior, which has shown 30% to 50% gains within three months of a confirmed low. Whether that bottom is already in remains an open question. But for van de Poppe, the signals are stacking up in one direction. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

The crypto market is consolidating after months of bearish price action, with participants navigating an environment defined by geopolitical tension, macro uncertainty, and a price structure that has yet to confirm a clear direction. In this context, top analyst Darkfost has identified a behavioral shift that cuts across the usual boundaries between crypto and traditional finance — and what it reveals about where market participants are directing their attention is worth understanding. Related Reading: XRP’s Recovery Is Real, But The Risk Appetite Behind It Is Still Broken – Analyst Since Binance launched gold futures trading in January, the platform has recorded more than $100 billion in trading volume. That figure, accumulated in under four months, is not a product success story. It is a behavioral signal. The participants who typically live in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins have collectively directed nine figures into the world’s oldest safe-haven asset — and the environment driving that demand is the same one currently suppressing crypto prices. Ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States continue to limit market visibility and sustain demand for assets that hold value through uncertainty. Gold has been the primary beneficiary of that dynamic, posting gains of approximately 210% since October 2023 before the correction that began in late January. That correction has since brought gold 16.5% below its all-time high. The safe-haven trade has not reversed — it has pulled back. And in markets, 16.5% corrections after 210% rallies tend to attract a specific kind of attention. $6.6 Billion in a Single Day — and the Demand Has Not Gone Away The volume evolution on Binance’s gold futures tells the story of a market that found its audience faster than almost anyone anticipated. Standard sessions now regularly record between $500 million and $1 billion in trading activity — a baseline that would have been considered extraordinary for a product that did not exist four months ago. During the February correction and again in late March, that baseline was left behind entirely. Multiple sessions exceeded $3 billion, and on March 23 the platform recorded $6.6 billion in a single day — a figure that reflects institutional-scale participation, not retail curiosity. Darkfost frames the current consolidation in gold’s price as structurally natural rather than structurally concerning. After a 210% rally over two years, a 16.5% correction represents the kind of profit-taking that follows any sustained advance — and the persistence of Binance gold futures volume through that correction suggests the underlying demand has not reversed alongside the price. The structural advantage Binance introduced is worth naming directly. Traditional gold markets close on weekends. Binance does not. For a market participant whose primary trading environment operates continuously — where geopolitical developments on a Saturday morning can move prices before any traditional venue opens — permanent access to gold exposure is not a convenience. It is a capability that did not previously exist for this audience. Darkfost’s assessment is that Binance made the right call. The $100 billion in volume and the $6.6 billion single-day record suggest the market agrees. Related Reading: Ethereum Buyers Stepping In Right Now Are the Most Aggressive Since Early 2023: Is the Bottom In? BTC/XAU Ratio Tests Structural Support After Sharp Breakdown The BTC/XAU ratio is attempting to stabilize after a decisive breakdown that shifted the relative strength balance back in favor of gold. After topping near the 35–37 zone, the ratio entered a sustained downtrend. Losing both its short-term and medium-term moving averages in sequence — a clear signal that Bitcoin has been underperforming gold across this phase of the market. The recent move lower into the 13–15 range marked a significant reset. That level aligns with prior consolidation zones from 2023, suggesting the market has returned to a historically relevant demand area. The reaction so far has been constructive but not yet convincing. Price has bounced modestly and is now attempting to reclaim the 17 level, but it remains below the declining 50-week and 100-week moving averages, which continue to act as dynamic resistance. Related Reading: Chainlink Is Getting Cheaper, And Whales Are Not Buying The Dip: Discount Or A Trap? Volume expanded notably during the selloff, indicating that the move was driven by strong conviction rather than thin liquidity. The subsequent rebound, by contrast, has occurred on lighter participation — a detail that raises questions about its durability. Structurally, the ratio remains in a corrective phase. A sustained reclaim of the 20–23 region would be required to suggest a shift back toward Bitcoin outperformance. Until then, the trend continues to favor gold. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin and Ethereum have spent the past few weeks moving like assets caught between two powerful forces. On one side, institutional demand has returned through Spot ETFs, treasury purchases, and dip-buying from larger investors. On the other side, profit-taking and heavy derivatives positioning keep turning rallies into sudden pullbacks. ETF Demand Is Slowly Lifting Bitcoin And Ethereum The crypto market has not been moving in a clean straight line. Bitcoin has pushed close to the $80,000 level more than once in the past week, only to lose momentum around $79,000. Ethereum has been following these moves, but with its own ETF flow and positioning pressure.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Wave Down To $40,000 Shows When The Bottom Will Begin The strongest reason Bitcoin and Ethereum have been rising is the return of institutional inflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been on a strong inflow streak in April, with data indicating more than $2.2 billion in net inflows between April 14 and April 24. Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $823.7 million from April 20 to April 24, while Ethereum ETFs attracted about $155 million over the same week. That helps explain why Bitcoin was able to rebound strongly from its earlier March range in the mid-$60,000s and move back near $78,000 to $80,000. Bitcoin recently came close to $80,000, reaching around $79,475 over the weekend before reversing, showing that sellers are still active. A War That Crypto Cannot Ignore The single biggest driver of crypto volatility in 2026 has been a conflict thousands of miles from any blockchain. The US-Iran conflict has been the biggest factor in how the cryptocurrency market has been facing mounting pressure.  Related Reading: Analyst Says Ethereum Just Confirmed A ‘Turtle Soup’, Here’s What It Means The sudden onset of military conflict in February delivered an immediate and severe shock that pushed cryptocurrencies to their lows. However, earlier in April, Bitcoin jumped to an 11-week high in light of easing US-Iran tensions and talks of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. As it stands, US President Donald Trump’s national security team is reviewing an Iranian peace plan to halt the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the strait if the US lifts its blockade and sanctions on the country. Bitcoin and Ethereum price fluctuations have largely tracked these ups and downs and worries over rising oil prices. An ongoing US naval blockade and Iran continuing to seize ships suggest, however, that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is still far off. The third force behind the sharp swings is leverage, as crypto markets are heavily influenced by derivatives. For instance, the recent Bitcoin rally to $79,000 caught many traders off-guard, and over $200 million worth of short positions were liquidated. Buying pressure on the Bitcoin derivatives side has yet to simmer down, as on-chain data shows BTC net taker volume recently surged to around $145 million. Ethereum has also seen aggressive derivatives activity. Recent data showed ETH futures open interest jumping 26% to about $25.4 billion. Ethereum buyers are also at their most aggressive buying spree phase since early 2023. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto pundit Star has highlighted that crypto decentralization is a myth, noting that crypto networks and firms can freeze funds. The pundit specifically alluded to the Tether freeze and Arbitrum’s move to freeze the crypto assets stolen by the Kelp DAO exploiter.  Pundit Highlights Crypto Decentralization Myth In an X post, Star stated that centralization has been exposed inside TRON USDT. The pundit noted that Tether just executed the largest freeze in its history, freezing $344 million USDT, which it carried out in coordination with OFAC and the U.S. law enforcement. This was executed directly through the USDT smart contract, with the funds visible but completely unusable.  Related Reading: What The Kelp DAO’s $292 Million Hack Means For XRP Holders Earning Yield Further commenting on how it works, Star explained that Tether has admin control over USDT contracts, which proves that crypto decentralization is a myth. The pundit added that this admin control enables the USDT issuer to blacklist any address, freeze balances instantly, and permanently destroy funds.  It is worth noting that Tether had confirmed the freeze, stating that it supported the U.S. government in freezing $344 million USDT across two addresses, which were on the TRON network. The firm added that the freeze was executed after the addresses were identified, preventing further movement of funds. A CNN report confirmed that the U.S. government directed the freeze of these USDT funds because they are linked to Iran. Iran had notably opted against stablecoins in favor of Bitcoin for toll payments at the Strait of Hormuz over fears of seizure, further highlighting the myth around crypto decentralization.  Meanwhile, Star pointed out that the Tether freeze on TRON came just days after the network’s founder, Justin Sun, said that TRON is the most decentralized blockchain in the world after the Arbitrum incident. Sun has yet to comment on the Tether freeze on the TRON network, which occurred earlier this week.  The Arbitrum Incident Also Raises Concerns Star also cited the Arbitrum incident to highlight that crypto decentralization is a myth. Earlier this week, Arbitrum announced that the network’s Security Council had taken emergency action to freeze the 30,766 ETH being held in the Arbitrum address that is connected to the Kelp DAO exploiter.  Related Reading: Remember Arbitrum? This Analyst Just Predicted That A 7,400% Rally Is Coming The network stated that the Security Council acted with input from law enforcement regarding the exploiter’s identity. It is worth noting that the Kelp DAO exploiter had stolen up to $292 million in staked ETH from the Kelp DAO bridge last weekend. Meanwhile, Arbitrum’s decision to freeze this ETH drew mixed reactions.  Crypto pundit Pledditor noted that Arbitrum, which has regularly received praise from Vitalik Buterin as the most decentralized Layer-2, has just frozen funds. On the other hand, Helius CEO Mert praised the move, noting that Arbitrum having the means of control and refusing to use it to appease the exploiters would be a “much worse and dishonorable outcome.” Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com

A wave of crypto hacks hitting decentralized finance platforms in April has renewed an old argument: should stablecoin companies step in when stolen money passes through their systems? That question is now front and center again after Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, revealed it froze over $340 million in dollar-pegged tokens at the direct request of US law enforcement officials. Related Reading: Shariah-Compliant Stablecoin PUSD Moves Into MidEast Institutional Arena Community Divided Over Stablecoin Control The freeze targeted two separate wallet addresses. Tether said the funds were linked to unlawful conduct but gave no further detail about what the accounts were suspected of doing or who controlled them. The company coordinates freezes when it finds credible ties to sanctioned entities, criminal networks, or other illegal activity, according to its published policy. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino defended the action in a statement released alongside the announcement. “When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively,” he said. The company did not respond to further requests for comment. The freeze was carried out in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a US Treasury agency responsible for enforcing economic sanctions. That makes this more than a routine compliance move — it signals active cooperation between a major crypto firm and federal authorities at a time when regulatory pressure on the industry continues to mount. Not everyone welcomed the news. Crypto media outlet Truth for The Commoner pushed back sharply. “Your stablecoins are not your stablecoins. They never were,” the outlet posted on social media. The reaction reflects a tension that has existed since centralized stablecoins became widely used — the tokens may sit on a blockchain, but the company behind them holds a master switch. 3/ On April 1, 2026, Drift Protocol was exploited for $280M. The exploiter used CCTP to bridge 232M+ USDC from Solana to Ethereum across 100+ transactions over six consecutive hours. 10+ additional DeFi protocols across the Solana ecosystem were indirectly impacted. Despite the… https://t.co/RLDwKghzjo — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 3, 2026 A Debate Rekindled By A $280 Million Hack The announcement comes weeks after one of the month’s most damaging incidents — the Drift Protocol exploit, which drained $280 million from the platform. That attack put Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, under a different kind of scrutiny. Onchain analyst ZachXBT publicly criticized Circle for failing to freeze USDC funds after the attacker routed stolen money through Circle’s own native bridge over six consecutive hours. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert “No USDC was frozen,” ZachXBT noted, arguing that centralized issuers have a responsibility to act quickly when hacks are in progress. The criticism drew wide attention across the crypto community and intensified calls for clearer standards around when and how stablecoin issuers should intervene. Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView

A crypto pundit has shared a bold XRP price prediction, using AI analysis and outlining several market drivers and ongoing developments that could fuel the rally. In the analysis, the expert projects that in 2026, XRP could potentially skyrocket to $10 and by 2035, the cryptocurrency could reach historical highs above $500. Although the analyst maintains a broadly bullish outlook for XRP’s price, he urged investors and traders to take the forecast “with a grain of salt,” noting that it remains speculative.  XRP Price Forecast From 2026 To 2030 In an X post shared on April 22, crypto market analyst Vincent Van Code outlined a highly bullish forecast for the XRP price over the next decade. Van Code said he had been conducting extensive Large Language Model (LLM) studies of the XRP ecosystem, factoring in multiple variables and market metrics to develop a detailed short- and long-term outlook for the cryptocurrency. He also acknowledged using Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, to help refine parts of his modeling and reinforce his projections.  Related Reading: Japan Is Going In On XRP, But Can This Drive The Price To $10? For the first phase of his outlook, covering 2026 to 2030, Van Code projects a strong, multi-year expansion in the XRP price. Notably, he expects the cryptocurrency to climb from $6 at the start of the period to as high as $200 by the end of the 5th year.   For 2026, Van Code stated that his end-of-year optimistic price target for XRP is between $6 and $10, representing a 329% to 614% increase from its current price above $1.4. He also projected that the network’s estimated annual on-chain bridged volume could increase significantly, possibly reaching between $400 billion and $800 billion.  He attributed this potential growth to several key market drivers, including the official implementation of the CLARITY Act, early stages of Treasury migration, representing around 1-3% of a projected $13 trillion pipeline, and continued growth in XRP’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). He also pointed to the initial LP seeding across 5-10 core trading pairs, including XRP/RLUSD and key corridors.  For 2027-2030, Van Code projects that XRP could rise from $15 to $200, alongside a sharp increase in its annual bridged volume from between $1.2 trillion to $20 trillion. He noted that various ecosystem and market factors could drive this rally. This includes increased adoption of DEXs attracting institutional liquidity providers, as well as the expansion of RLUSD, which he said could boost demand for XRP as a neutral bridging asset across APAC and non-USD settlement corridors.  The analyst also highlighted that the price could increase based on proven ROI from live Treasury flows and the growing adoption of XRP and Ripple. Van Code XRP could also see wider corridor expansion and self-sustaining LP growth over those four years. For 2030, he expects a rally to between $100-$200, driven by XRP potentially capturing 3-6% of the global liquidity layer, among other factors.  XRP Price Prediction For 2031 To 2035 Van Code expects XRP to continue projecting upwards from 2031 to 2035, potentially reaching a peak above $650 or settling at an average price of about $500. For 2031, he predicts a rally to between $150 and $280, with a more controlled surge in annualized bridged volume from $18 trillion to $28,000.  Related Reading: Bitcoin To $140,000 And XRP To $7? Here’s When It Will Happen During this period, XRP’s rally is expected to be driven by maturing tokenized asset markets and interoperability among CBDCs. He also noted that the cryptocurrency could begin functioning as an integrated infrastructure for bridging.  From 2032 to 2035, prices are expected to jump from $380 to $650, with annualized bridge volume skyrocketing from $38 trillion to over $75 trillion. Potential factors expected to fuel this massive surge in value include XRP adoption by fintechs and neobanks globally, sustained growth in emerging markets, and supply predictability from escrowed tokens.  The analyst also said that during the final two years, XRP could become the default neutral bridge in global workflows. Additionally, he believes the cryptocurrency could capture a meaningful share of the global cross-border liquidity. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has hit new lows as one of its largest investors files a lawsuit against the project backed by the US First Family, raising concerns about the project’s stability. Related Reading: Ethereum Faces ‘Moment Of Truth’ As Price Eyes $2,450 Resistance – Breakout Loading? WLFI Sinks Amid Justin Sun Lawsuit World Liberty Financial’s token has fallen around 3% over the past 24 hours, reaching a new all-time low of $0.0761 on Thursday morning, according to CoinGecko data. The cryptocurrency had been trading between $0.0887-$0.1355 since the early February correction, but broke down from this range at the start of April. Notably, the token has seen 16.5% and 26% corrections in the weekly and monthly timeframes, fueled by multiple controversies and the recent legal action taken by Tron founder and WLFI’s largest holder, Justin Sun. Sun filed a complaint against the Trump-backed project on Tuesday, alleging that WLFI’s team froze his tokens using an embedded smart contract backlist function, stripped him of his voting rights, and threatened to burn his holdings, without proper justification. According to the lawsuit, he invested a total of $45 million to buy 3 billion WLFI tokens in 2024 and 2025 and received one billion tokens for advising the project. He also claimed that “World Liberty is on the verge of collapse,” raising concerns about whether the project has enough reserves to back its USD1 stablecoin. In the filing, Sun reportedly says that his relationship with WLFI’s team soured mid-last year after he declined to provide more investment and support to the project, specifically the USD1 stablecoin. In addition, he claimed that World Liberty Financial privately blamed him for the WLFI’s 40% price crash on its launch, leading to his address blacklist on September 4, 2025. Eric Trump Takes A Jab At Sun The Tron founder affirmed on X that he had tried to resolve the situation privately, but that “certain individuals on the World Liberty project team have been operating the project in a manner that goes against President Trump’s values,” leaving him “no choice but to turn to the courts.” World Liberty Financial co-founders Eric Trump and Zack Witkoff publicly responded to Justin Sun’s lawsuit, dismissing his complaint and taking a jab at the Tron founder. In an X post, Eric Trump discredited him, arguing that the only thing “more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall,” referencing Sun’s notorious purchase of Maurizio Cattelan’s banana artwork in late 2024. Some online users pointed out the shift in their relationship, noting Trump’s second son had praised Sun less than a year ago. In June 2025, Eric Trump said he was “the biggest fan of Tron” and “loved” Justin Sun, whom he called a “great friend and an icon in the crypto space.” Related Reading: Dogecoin ‘Launchpad’ Ready? Analysts Forecast Big DOGE Price Move Amid Volume Spike Witkoff, who is the son of Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, also called Sun’s lawsuit a “desperate attempt to deflect attention” from the crypto founder’s “misconducts,” affirming that his claims are “entirely meritless” and that World Liberty Financial looks forward to getting the case thrown out soon. “He engaged in misconduct that required World Liberty to take action to protect itself and its users. World Liberty will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its community,” Witkoff concluded. As of this writing, WLFI has fallen more than 75% since its all-time high (ATH) of $0.33 on September 1, 2025. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

A dollar-linked stablecoin built to meet Islamic finance standards is now operating on a new blockchain network anchored in the Middle East, adding a second digital currency to a settlement platform backed by some of Abu Dhabi’s biggest financial names. Related Reading: Consistent XRP Buys Could Deliver Outsized Gains By 2030: Finance Expert Backed By Gulf Currencies, Not Just The Dollar PUSD, issued by Palm Azgar Finance, holds reserves in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams — both pegged to the US dollar — rather than holding US dollars directly. That structure is central to its Shariah-compliant design, which is aimed at institutions operating under Islamic finance rules that prohibit interest and require asset backing. The stablecoin has roughly $2.3 billion in circulation and runs on several major blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Tron. ADI Chain is its newest addition. ADI Chain was built as a settlement layer for a dirham-backed token that came out of a partnership between International Holding Company and First Abu Dhabi Bank. The Central Bank of the UAE licensed it. With PUSD now on board, institutions using the network can settle transactions in either a dollar-linked or dirham-denominated token operating on the same platform. The ADI Foundation says the network is designed to support payment corridors across the Gulf, broader Middle East, and parts of Africa. A $3 Trillion Market In The Crosshairs Islamic finance assets are estimated at more than $3 trillion worldwide, according to the ADI Foundation. That market has traditionally been served by conventional banks and funds operating under Shariah guidelines, but blockchain-based alternatives have struggled to break through at scale. Sharia Law At A Glance Shariah law forbids interest, limits speculation, and requires financial instruments to be backed by real assets — rules that disqualify most crypto products outright. For a stablecoin to meet that standard, it must hold verifiable reserves and generate no interest-based returns. Certification from a board of qualified Islamic scholars is typically required, though the report does not confirm whether PUSD has obtained one. PUSD’s move onto ADI Chain is a bid to change that, targeting corporate treasuries, exchanges, and payment processors looking for compliant digital settlement tools. The UAE has become one of the more active regulatory environments for stablecoins. Several frameworks have been put in place by the Central Bank and the Abu Dhabi Global Market, covering both dirham-pegged and dollar-denominated tokens. Related Reading: A New Phase For XRP? Integrations Keep Rolling In Across The Ecosystem Global Players Already In The UAE Space Approvals have also been extended to established names. Tether, Ripple USD, and Circle have all been cleared to operate within the ADGM financial zone by its Financial Services Regulatory Authority. That puts PUSD in a field that includes some of the largest stablecoin issuers in the world, competing for a share of institutional transaction flow in one of the region’s most active financial hubs. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Some crypto analysts have affirmed that Ethereum (ETH) is facing a pivotal moment as it retests a major resistance barrier that could make or break the King of Altcoin’s recovery dreams. Related Reading: Dogecoin ‘Launchpad’ Ready? Analysts Forecast Big DOGE Price Move Amid Volume Spike Ethereum $2,400 Retest: Breakout or Fakeout? On Wednesday, Ethereum jumped 3.6% to retest a crucial resistance area for the third time this month, as the cryptocurrency attempts to recover from recent market jitters fueled by the US-Iran conflict. The cryptocurrency has been hovering between $1,800-$2,450 since the early February market crash, attempting to break out of this range on multiple occasions but ultimately failing. Amid the recent market recovery, ETH has surged 15% from April’s lows and sustained the upper half of its local range for the first time in three months. Now, it is trying to reclaim the crucial $2,400-$2,500 resistance area before potentially climbing to higher levels. Multiple crypto market observers noted that Ethereum has been pushing toward a breakout over the past week, reaching a three-month high of $2,464 last Friday and testing the $2,425 level today. Analyst Crypto Rand emphasized the importance of reclaiming this region for ETH’s price, affirming that consolidation above this area would “trigger a major bullish reversal” for the cryptocurrency. Similarly, Daan Crypto Trades pointed out that after today’s performance, the King of Altcoins is near its bull market band and the weekly 200 Moving Average (MA), currently at $2,450. This level was lost as support in mid-January, and a weekly close above it could open the door to a retest of the weekly 200 Exponential Moving Average (EMA), located around the $2,560 mark. On the contrary, analyst Ted Pillows shared a bearish perspective, affirming that although the price is surging, Ethereum’s spot demand “is stagnant,” which signals that the recent rally is not supported by steady spot accumulation. “Ethereum could have a liquidity grab above the $2,400-$2,450 level similar to Jan 2026,” he explained, when the price retested the $3,400 area before crashing. Traders Eye $2,900 And Beyond Despite the concerns of another correction, analyst Ali Martinez recently noted that ETH’s SuperTrend, used to identify the current market trend, flipped bullish for the first time in over a year. Per the post, the SuperTrend showed a Buy signal for the first time since the first half of 2025, suggesting the end of the current downtrend. The analyst also affirmed that if the cryptocurrency clears the $2,385 level, it could open the path to the $2,900 area. This level marks the X-axis of ETH’s three-month ascending triangle, and turning it into support would neutralize recent sell signals and confirm a major trend continuation. “With the overhead supply cleared, the technical objective for this formation is now $2,900. As long as we hold above the breakout zone, the momentum remains firmly with the bulls,” he wrote. Related Reading: Crypto Community Slams LayerZero: More Verifiers Won’t Stop The Next $290M Hack Meanwhile, Trader Tardigrade shared a macro perspective on Ethereum based on a two-year ascending channel. According to the post, the cryptocurrency retested and confirmed the channel’s lower boundary as support in the weekly timeframe during the recent market correction, pushing back into the channel over the past four weeks. “If this level holds, $6,000 is the mid-2026 target based on the channel structure,” he suggested, concluding that “Bullish momentum building.” Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

John Bollinger, the creator of Bollinger Bands, used a sharply worded post on X on April 21 to argue that Bitcoin, XRP and the broader crypto market need a break from what he sees as capital being pulled out of the sector by Washington. Bollinger did not cite a dataset or name a specific policy move, but his reference to the “current administration” landed in a market already primed to read that as a swipe at President Donald Trump’s orbit and the crypto ventures tied to it. “Can’t help but wonder if the current administration is done sucking capital out of the crypto space. Perhaps one of you can figure out how much capital they have removed from the space and make an estimate of the impact.” He then added the line that gave the post its sting: “Be nice to get back to business!” Bollinger tagged BTC, ETH, LTC and XRP, making clear he was talking about market-wide conditions rather than a single trade or narrative pocket. The Story Behind Bollinger’s Bitcoin, XRP And Crypto Thesis Bollinger’s complaint, read in context, is that crypto has spent too much time functioning as a political extraction machine and not enough time trading on its own fundamentals. That is an inference from his post, not a quantified claim by Bollinger himself, but it fits a period in which Trump-linked projects have absorbed enormous attention, liquidity and fee generation. Related Reading: XRP Indicator Turns Bullish Again After 3 Months: What’s The Next Price Target? The clearest example was the TRUMP meme coin. Entities behind the token accumulated close to $100 million in trading fees in less than two weeks after launch, while tens of thousands of smaller traders lost money. 80% of the token supply was owned by CIC Digital, a Trump business affiliate, and another related entity, meaning a large share of the economics sat with insiders from the start. Then there is World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-backed crypto venture that has become a much larger and more durable capital sink. World Liberty raised more than $550 million through sales of WLFI governance tokens, that the Trump family took a 60% stake in the business and rights to 75% of net token-sale revenue and 60% of operating revenue, and that only about 5% of the funds raised were left to build the platform itself. New token sales still send 75% of proceeds to the Trump family, even as the project proposed tighter lockups for early investors and faces a fresh lawsuit by TRON founder Justin Sun. Related Reading: 4 Signs XRP Is Moving From Bearish to Bullish: Analyst That does not prove that money flowing into Trump-linked projects is money directly taken from Bitcoin or XRP on a one-to-one basis. But it does support the broader market argument Bollinger was making: in a cycle where capital is finite, politically branded tokens, insider-heavy token sales and fee-rich speculative launches can divert risk appetite away from liquid majors and the business of trading them. If that dynamic eases, Bollinger’s call for “relief” may resonate most with investors who think Bitcoin and XRP have spent the last year competing not just with macro headwinds, but with the administration’s own crypto cash registers. At press time, XRP traded at $1.45. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

A key US crypto policy bill, the CLARITY Act, is now moving through its final stages in the Senate, with potential action tied to the Senate Banking Committee’s last markup expected in May.  But Morgan Creek Capital CEO Mark Yusko says the legislation—despite broad praise from much of the crypto industry—could actually prolong the current downturn in digital assets. Bear Market Could Extend Beyond October In a YouTube interview with Paul Barron published Tuesday, Yusko described the CLARITY Act as “a horrible bill,” warning that if it passes, it would not trigger the bullish shift many investors are hoping for. Instead, he argued that bearish conditions could continue well beyond September and October.  Yusko also questioned the motivations behind the bill, saying it appears to have been written by “big incumbents,” which he further clarified as large banks.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Bottom At $63,000? Grayscale Research Flags Feb. 5 As This Cycle’s Low During the interview, the executive pointed to remarks attributed to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, claiming the bank would “lose trillions of dollars of deposits” if customers were able to earn stablecoin yields.  Yusko said this is exactly the kind of incentive that would push large financial institutions to resist competition, arguing that if people can earn yield in alternative places, they will move their capital. “There’s no mystery about it,” Yusko suggested, implying that big banks are signaling their priorities more openly than many expect. He also said he was confused by what he called a political reversal he noticed around Senator Cynthia Lummis.  Yusko referenced her earlier support for President Trump’s strategic Bitcoin reserve plan, then contrasted it with her backing of the CLARITY Act. In his view, the shift doesn’t make sense in light of what many see as the bill’s likely direction. Lummis Rejects Further CLARITY Act Delays On Tuesday, Senator Thom Tillis told reporters that he doesn’t expect a CLARITY Act markup in April and said the committee should instead focus on May. If that is the case, the week of May 11 would become the first possible window, especially since the Senate is scheduled to be in recess before then. Crypto In America reported that for a next-week markup to occur, the committee would need to notify members by this Friday. That notification reportedly has not happened, which the report ties to signals from the stablecoin-yield negotiation process.  Related Reading: XRP Indicator Turns Bullish Again After 3 Months: What’s The Next Price Target? Lummis, however, has publicly pushed back on the idea of further delay in the CLARITY Act passage. In a statement to Crypto In America, she said, “Further delay is unacceptable.”  She added that she is “really proud of the bipartisan progress we’ve made” and that she won’t allow colleagues to sacrifice substantive and good progress for what she described as the pursuit of a “perfect bill” that will never come.  The pro-crypto Senator also warned that the “offshore risk is real” and that the window for action is closing. “It’s time to finally get this done,” she concluded. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

Real-world crypto payments are taking another step forward as SUI and USDC go live on RedotPay’s platform. With this integration, users can now go beyond holding digital assets to actually using them in real-world transactions, directly through RedotPay’s app and crypto card system. This integration brings together the speed and scalability of Sui with the stability of USDC, creating a more practical payment experience for everyday spending. How Crypto Cards Bridge Digital Assets And Retail Payments Hong Kong-based RedotPay, a stablecoin-focused payments platform with over 7 million users, is making a major push into real-world crypto adoption by integrating SUI and USDC directly into its app and crypto card platform. Crypto analyst MartyParty has revealed on X that the update allows users to send, receive, and spend Sui-native assets directly through RedotPay. Related Reading: Sui Restores Service After Major 6-Hour Outage Shook Network Furthermore, RedotPay’s infrastructure connects crypto balances to traditional payment rails. This enables users to transact in over 100 countries and more than 130 million merchants worldwide, anywhere its card or payout systems are accepted. Behind the scenes, transactions are converted into traditional payment rails, fiat-like spending with low fees and fast settlement, powered by Sui’s high throughput and sub-second finality. RedotPay is positioning itself among the first major crypto card providers to support native non-bridged USDC on Sui, moving beyond wrapped versions to improve efficiency and security. MartyParty stated that this integration aligns with RedotPay’s broader strategy to expand stablecoin-powered global payments, while already supporting multiple assets and offering features such as P2P marketplaces and international transfers. For SUI, this represents solid real-world adoption, transforming blockchain-native assets into everyday spendable money that can be used at scale without the usual barriers of bridging or fragmentation. Revolutionary Technologies Set To Transform Finance On SUI The next chapter of finance is about to unfold, and it’s happening on SUI. According to the Sui community, two of the biggest unlocks in modern finance are on the horizon and are launching on the SUI network this year, which is a game-changer in how money moves globally. Related Reading: SUI At Decision Point: RSI Trendline Could Trigger A Drop Or Bounce This upgrade is about revolutionary technologies that will transform the way individuals think about money and investments. Sui network is at the forefront of this innovation, poised to make a significant impact on the financial landscape. The crypto community is about to witness a new era in finance, and it’s coming to the Sui network this year. Sui Community has also highlighted that recent insights from the Moon Show suggest SUI may be on the verge of a breakout, with a potential long opportunity on the horizon. Market structure is tightening, and a clean close on the daily time frame could be the catalyst for this move, setting the stage for further growth. If confirmed, this could mark the start of a potential surge in Sui’s value. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

As Dogecoin (DOGE) consolidates below a key area, some analysts suggest that the market’s recent bullish momentum and whale accumulation could push the memecoin’s price above a crucial resistan level soon. Related Reading: Crypto Community Slams LayerZero: More Verifiers Won’t Stop The Next $290M Hack Dogecoin Big Price Move Faces Strong Resistance On Tuesday, Dogecoin continued to move sideways between the $0.093-$0.096 price range after failing to break above a crucial resistance level. Amid last week’s market pump, the leading memecoin broke out of the $0.096 barrier for the first time in two weeks, briefly touching the $0.10-$0.102 resistance on Friday. Market analyst Ali Martinez suggested that DOGE is preparing for a big price move, fueled by bullish momentum and whale accumulation. Notably, the memecoin recently saw one of its highest transaction volumes of the month and one of its highest volume spikes Year-to-Date (YTD), with over $800 million transacted on April 16. In addition, large holders have accumulated over $330 million in Dogecoin over the past week, signaling key demand and confidence in the largest memecoin by market capitalization. Nonetheless, Martinez also analyzed DOGE’s technical structure, noting that cryptocurrency has been consolidating within a horizontal channel since the late-January, early-February market crash. Per the chart, the channel’s mid-range mark, around the $0.10 level, has been a strong resistance barrier over the past three months, with Dogecoin failing to reclaim it despite multiple attempts. To the analyst, only a sustained close above $0.10 could push the memecoin toward the local range highs and open the door to a retest of the upper resistance at $0.12, a level untested since mid-February. DOGE’s Macro Chart Eyes Parabolic Run In a series of X posts, Market observer Trader Tardigrade stated that Dogecoin is “showing strong signs” that its downtrend is losing momentum, pointing out that selling pressure appears to be fading.  As he explained, DOGE has recently flashed Bullish Divergence two times, with the indicators refusing to go down despite the price continuing to print lower lows. “That’s a sign the selling force is fading and a shift from downtrend to uptrend could be around the corner,” the trader said. He also shared a macro outlook, affirming that Dogecoin’s launchpad, the setup before a massive surge, is “in place.” According to the chart, this setup formed between 2016 and 2017 and led to a massive rally toward its 2018 all-time high (ATH) of $0.175. “A breakout move toward the moon looks next. Momentum is building,” Trader Tardigrade suggested, adding that “a surge in volume could ignite the next leg higher.” Related Reading: A Stark XRP Price Call: Why One Analyst Says It Could Be Under $1 By 2031 Analyst Bitcoinsensus also shared a macro cycle outlook, stating that Dogecoin continues to trade within a large multi-cycle structure. The market watcher affirmed that the cryptocurrency’s current setup resembles DOGE’s previous macro consolidations. The chart shows that after retracing from previous highs, the cryptocurrency recorded a long consolidation, followed by a parabolic run to new highs, with these breakouts leading to 60x and 215x gains. “The broader formation keeps Cycle 3 in focus, while the market watches to see whether this phase develops like the earlier ones,” Bitcoinsensus stated. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

A partnership between BlackRock, Mastercard, Gemini, and Ripple recently completed tests using a regulated stablecoin to settle card payments on the XRP Ledger. This move shows how traditional financial giants are shifting from watching blockchain technology to actually putting it to work. Related Reading: XRP Poised To Dominate New DeFi Cycle, XRPL Validator Says The trial focused on RLUSD, a stablecoin designed to help banks process payments with more transparency and speed than current systems allow. Major Institutions Explore Blockchain Infrastructure Ripple executive Odelia Torteman shared details about these developments during a recent industry forum in London. While many people view XRP as a token for trading, firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are looking at the underlying ledger as a tool for institutional finance. The network was built to handle cross-border transactions and move multiple types of assets at once. It includes a built-in decentralized exchange and an automated market maker. These features allow large companies to trade and move value without being fully reliant on traditional middlemen. Last September, Franklin Templeton joined forces with Ripple and DBS Bank to introduce new ways to lend and trade. They used money market funds that were turned into digital tokens to increase liquidity. By combining these tokens with regulated stablecoins, the firms aim to make capital move more efficiently while staying within legal rules. This approach helps build trust for large investors who are often wary of the volatile nature of the broader crypto market. BlackRock And Ripple Link Investment Funds Reports indicate that the reach of this technology is expanding into the world of Treasury products. Ripple worked with Securitize to create a system where investors in BlackRock’s BUIDL fund can turn their holdings into RLUSD. This setup allows for liquidity 24 hours a day through the use of smart contracts. Normally, pulling money out of these types of funds can take time and only happens during banking hours. This new method changes that by allowing constant access to funds. Future Growth For Bridge Assets Data shows that the XRP Ledger is being positioned as a primary choice for firms that need to meet strict identity and compliance standards. It uses “trust lines” and specific tools to handle know-your-customer requirements. Related Reading: $1.4 Billion Pours Into Crypto — What’s Driving The Surge? It is evident that the actual application of XRP is changing as more institutions start participating in its operations. The coin has traditionally been used for speculative purposes by individual traders through exchanges; however, it is currently being applied as a technical medium of liquidity. As a digital asset, XRP acts as a mediator for banks and facilitates transactions in various forms of value worldwide in a matter of seconds. Featured image from The Wall Street Experience, chart from TradingView

A new bipartisan bill introduced on Tuesday would give many fintech and crypto payment providers a clearer path to the US payment infrastructure.  The new measure, called the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency (PACE) Act, is designed to create a national payments license that would streamline how qualified companies can access federal payment services, to make digital transfers faster and less expensive for consumers and small businesses. How The PACE Act Could Work The PACE Act, introduced by Representatives Young Kim and Sam Liccardo, is said to include a streamlined federal registration process. Payment companies in the crypto sector could apply for federal registration under clear standards. The legislation also calls for direct access to federal payment networks for approved fintech and crypto companies, alongside what the Representatives describe as robust oversight and enforcement.  Related Reading: A Stark XRP Price Call: Why One Analyst Says It Could Be Under $1 By 2031 A key detail raised in the broader discussion of the bill is how it relates to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) approach to account structures for nonbank participants.  As reported by Crypto in America’s Eleanor Terrett, the PACE Act would permit these institutions to access Federal Reserve payment services in a manner aligned with Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s “skinny master accounts” concept—an approach crypto exchange Kraken gained access to earlier this year.  The reporting further says the bill would shift final decision-making authority for skinny master account applications to the Federal Reserve Board rather than the individual Reserve Banks. Crypto Groups Back New Proposal Several crypto groups have thrown their support behind the legislation. According to the bill’s official materials, endorsements include the Financial Technology Association, the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, and the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI).  Their collective message is that the bill would modernize access to core payment rails while keeping regulatory guardrails in place, especially for consumer protection and oversight. In remarks accompanying the announcement, Rep. Young Kim said Americans should not have to wait days to access money they are sending to themselves or pay extra just to move funds.  The bill, in her view, “modernizes our system to deliver faster payments, lower costs, and helps families and small businesses keep more of their hard-earned money.” Rep. Sam Liccardo also emphasized access and competition for nonbank payment firms, arguing that crypto payment companies have been shut out of the same infrastructure available to competitors.  Related Reading: AAVE Price Plummets By 26%: $9 Billion Net Outflows Traced To Kelp DAO Hack The Crypto Council for Innovation also praised the bill, pointing to its aim to allow businesses with 40 or more money transmitter licenses to comply with a uniform federal regulatory framework overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).  The CCI position is that expanding access to Federal Reserve payment services for well-regulated institutions would improve competition, while ensuring strong consumer protection standards are met.  The Crypto Council for Innovation said it looks forward to working with Congress to move the legislation forward so Americans benefit from “secure and efficient payment options.” Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Arbitrum’s Security Council has frozen 30,766 ETH tied to the KelpDAO exploit, moving the funds out of an address on Arbitrum One and into an intermediary wallet that now requires further governance action to unlock. At roughly $71 million, the move was large enough on its own. What made it more consequential was the method: a crypto governance body stepping in directly to override the normal finality of chain-held funds. In its statement, Arbitrum said: “The Arbitrum Security Council has taken emergency action to freeze the 30,766 ETH being held in the address on Arbitrum One that is connected to the KelpDAO exploit. The Security Council acted with input from law enforcement as to the exploiter’s identity, and, at all times, weighed its commitment to the security and integrity of the Arbitrum community without impacting any Arbitrum users or applications.” The funds had been transferred to what Arbitrum described as an intermediary frozen wallet. On-chain intelligence firm Arkham confirmed the action via X: ”ARBITRUM RECOVERS $70.9M FROM KELPDAO EXPLOITER. The Arbitrum Security Council just removed $70.97M ETH from the KelpDAO Exploiter’s addresses. They sent it to the address 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000DA0. North Korea stole the money and Arbitrum stole it back.” ARBITRUM RECOVERS $70.9M FROM KELPDAO EXPLOITER The Arbitrum Security Council just removed $70.97M ETH from the KelpDAO Exploiter’s addresses. They sent it to the address 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000DA0 North Korea stole the money and Arbitrum stole it back. pic.twitter.com/4H2FbzyZss — Arkham (@arkham) April 21, 2026 The frozen ETH is just one part of a much larger incident, as NewsBTC reported. KelpDAO was exploited on April 18 for about $290 million. LayerZero describes the event as isolated to KelpDAO’s rsETH configuration and tied to a single-DVN setup rather than broader contagion across the protocol. In a separate statement, KelpDAO said the April 18 incident involved a forged cross-chain message and later thanked Arbitrum’s council, ecosystem stakeholders and SEAL 911 for helping coordinate the response. “We appreciate the recent decision by the Arbitrum Security Council to take action in response to the LayerZero-DVN/rsETH incident of April 18. Over the past two days, the KelpDAO team has worked closely and constructively with members of the security council […] We would like to particularly acknowledge the exceptional efforts of Security Alliance’s SEAL 911 among countless others, whose coordination, information structuring, and stakeholder engagement were instrumental in bringing clarity and urgency to this process,” KelpDAO via X. We appreciate the recent decision by the @arbitrum Security Council to take action in response to the LayerZero-DVN/rsETH incident of April 18. Over the past two days, the KelpDAO team has worked closely and constructively with members of the security council and broader… https://t.co/E7CHGbypPc — Kelp (@KelpDAO) April 21, 2026 Arbitrum Sparks Fresh Decentralization Debate That left the industry arguing over two different questions at once: whether the recovery was justified, and what it says about the systems involved. Griff Green, a member of Arbitrum’s Security Council, framed the decision as an extraordinary but necessary intervention. “We did not make this decision lightly, there were countless hours of debates, technical, practical, ethical and political,” he wrote. “But all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, so today, we decided to do something.” The comment carried extra weight because Arbitrum’s council is not an abstract mechanism; it is a 12-member committee elected by the DAO to handle critical risks and emergency decisions. Critics, though, saw the same event very differently. In one of the sharper reactions on X, commentator Deestar (@Deestar) argued that “while this is really great news, it’s a proof that almost nothing in crypto is truly decentralized.” so basically Arbitrum security council moved $71 million in ETH out of the hackers wallet desperate times shows the true nature of crypto space the security council that made this decision are just 12 people, likely in the same location while this is really great news it’s a… https://t.co/zkgFNCsU0o pic.twitter.com/zYizGovwwk — Deestar (@Deestar) April 21, 2026 He pushed the point further: “If your government comes after your money, only Bitcoin can save you.” That critique is more polemical than technical, but it goes straight to the fault line this episode exposed. A network can call itself decentralized, yet still retain a small, coordinated emergency body with the power to seize control of assets (when the stakes are high enough). At press time, Arbitrum (ARB) traded at $0.1266. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

LayerZero is facing heavy criticism for its response to the recent $290 million KelpDAO exploit after the omnichain interoperability protocol blamed Kelp’s 1-of-1 verifier configuration for the incident. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Decentralization Narrative Under Fire After Epstein Files Claims LayerZero Blames KelpDAO For $290M Exploit Over the weekend, liquid restaking protocol KelpDAO was the victim of an attack that drained over $290 million in rsETH from the project after malicious actors exploited a weakness in the protocol’s LayerZero-powered bridge. Two days later, LayerZero addressed the incident, which became the largest DeFi hack of 2026, just weeks after Drift Protocol’s $285 million exploit shocked the industry. LayerZero attributed the “highly sophisticated attack” to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, claiming that it was a crypto infrastructure attack rather than a protocol exploit, and affirming that “there is zero contagion to any other cross-chain assets or applications.” They explained that the protocol is built on a “foundation of modular, application-configurable security,” using Decentralized Verifier Networks (DVNs), independent entities responsible for verifying the integrity of cross-chain messages. The malicious actors allegedly poisoned downstream RPC infrastructure by “compromising a quorum of the RPCs the LayerZero Labs DVN relied upon to verify transactions.” Per the post, the attackers swapped binaries for a custom payload to forge messages and used DDoS attacks to force failover to the poisoned nodes, triggering the DVN into confirming fake transactions. Based on this, LayerZero placed responsibility on KelpDAO for using a 1-of-1 verifier configuration instead of the multi-DVN recommendations: “This incident was isolated entirely to KelpDAO’s rsETH configuration as a direct consequence of their single-DVN setup.” Crypto Community Criticizes ‘Lack Of Accountability’ The crypto community reacted to the post-mortem, sharing its concerns about LayerZero’s response and criticizing the protocol for placing all responsibility only on Kelp’s security setup. “Imagine building a bridge and vehicles pays to cross, the bridge collapsed and you said it’s their fault for crossing the bridge. A classic clownery act from Bunch of clowns with zero accountability,” X user Saint wrote. Others questioned why LayerZero included a “1-of-1” configuration if the purpose of a DVN is customizable/modular security. “If the system allows this option, it’s not the fault of the customer who chose it—it’s a fundamental design flaw by the system that permitted it,” user Ditto wrote. “At the end of the day, the fact remains that the DVN RPC was compromised. DVN is a LayerZero product, and they are the ones who sold it to these teams,” he continued. Similarly, Chainlink community manager Zach Rynes accused the protocol of deflecting responsibility for the compromise of their own DVN node. He also criticized them for “throwing KelpDAO under the bus” for trusting LayerZero Labs’ setup that they “willingly support and only blocked after getting hacked, all while claiming everything worked as designed.” Meanwhile, Yearn Finance core team developer Artem K noted on X that the attack was described as a compromise of an RPC node and RPC poisoning, but that their own infrastructure is what was compromised. “Given it doesn’t say how the breach has occurred, I wouldn’t rush re-enabling the bridges,” he added. Wrong Diagnosis, Wrong Fix? Analyst The Smart Ape also claims that LayerZero made the wrong diagnosis and offered the wrong solution. Notably, the protocol’s post-mortem suggested migrating all applications with 1-of-1 DVN configurations to multi-DVN setups to prevent similar attacks. However, the analyst pointed out that multi-verifiers won’t stop the next multi-million-dollar attack, asserting that they could fail as all DVNs read chain states from the same handful of RPC providers, which are mostly clustered on AWS or GCP. If five “independent” DVNs read from the same three RPC providers, an attacker who poisons those three RPCs will poison all five verifiers simultaneously. “If all your verifiers get fooled in the same way at the same time, the math collapses back to 1-of-1. Five clones are not five witnesses,” he added. Related Reading: Remember Arbitrum? This Analyst Just Predicted That A 7,400% Rally Is Coming To solve this, the analyst suggested that every verifier runs its own full node on different client software, hosted on different cloud providers, maintained by different ops teams, peered with different subsets of the Ethereum network. “The fix isn’t multi-anything. The fix is that verifiers should attest to their own substrate, not just to chain state. until you can audit a DVN’s upstream topology, which RPC providers, which client software, which clouds, which regions, ‘M-of-N secured’ is marketing copy for a property that hasn’t actually been built. Lazarus didn’t break cryptography on April 18. They broke three servers,” he concluded. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index climbed above 29 on Monday for the first time since January 29, pulling out of “extreme fear” and settling into plain “fear.” It is a small move on a scale, but in crypto markets, it signals a shift in mood that money tends to follow. Related Reading: XRP A Strong Buy Before 2027 Despite 27% Drop In 2026: Finance Advisory Firm Funds Flow Back In Crypto investment products drew $1.4 billion in fresh inflows last week, according to data from CoinShares — the second-largest weekly figure recorded since January. The gain built on the prior week’s $1.1 billion, stretching the inflow run to three straight weeks and $2.7 billion combined. Total assets under management across crypto exchange-traded products rose close to $155 billion, the highest mark since early February. Just weeks earlier, in March, that figure had fallen as low as $128 billion. CoinShares head of research James Butterfill pointed to a recovering appetite for risk, tied largely to ongoing US-Iran ceasefire talks. Bitcoin’s price added to the mood, briefly pushing toward $78,000 on Friday before pulling back. Bitcoin And Ether Lead, Altcoins Get Left Behind Bitcoin products captured the bulk of the action. Data shows inflows into Bitcoin ETPs reached $1.12 billion for the week, pushing year-to-date totals to $3 billion, with assets under management sitting at $123 billion. US spot Bitcoin ETFs alone accounted for roughly $1 billion of that weekly total. Ether had its strongest week since January, pulling in $328 million. That was enough to flip Ether ETPs into positive territory for the year, with year-to-date inflows now sitting at $197 million. Not everything moved in the same direction. XRP products bled $56 million in outflows, the largest among altcoins. Solana recorded smaller but still negative flows of $2.3 million. Short-Bitcoin products took in just $1.4 million, suggesting only a thin slice of investors are still betting against the market. Inflation Data Gets Brushed Aside Geographically, the US drove most of the action — $1.5 billion in inflows. Germany came in second at $28 million. Switzerland ran the other way, posting $138 million in outflows. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy March CPI came in at 3.3% year over year, with core inflation at 2.6%. Based on reports from CoinShares, markets largely looked past the headline number, treating core inflation as contained and supply-driven rather than broad-based. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index crept up two points to 29 out of 100 on Monday — its highest reading since late January — but that number still signals fear among Bitcoin investors. Related Reading: Strategy Raises $1.76B War Chest As Saylor Signals Bigger Bitcoin Buy Markets had barely settled from a rough weekend before the index was being watched again as a barometer of just how shaky confidence remains in the crypto space. That unease has a clear cause. A two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, which had given financial markets a brief lift and helped keep oil prices in check, is now under serious strain. It is set to expire Wednesday. Source: Alternative.me US Military Seizure Rattles Markets The trouble started Saturday when Iran said it would shut down key oil shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin, which had climbed to $78,300 on Coinbase late Friday — its strongest price since early February — quickly gave up those gains. By Saturday and into early Sunday, it had slid to between $75,000 and $76,000. Then came Sunday night. The US military opened fire on an Iranian cargo ship and later took control of it, saying the vessel had attempted to break through a US blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran called the move a ceasefire violation and vowed retaliation. Iran also pulled out of peace talks scheduled for Monday in Islamabad, Pakistan. Bitcoin dropped sharply. It briefly fell under $74,000. JUST IN: Bitcoin falls under $74,000 after Iran rejects second round of peace talks with the US. pic.twitter.com/Bxyx687J3a — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) April 19, 2026 Stock Futures And Oil Feel The Pressure Too Crypto was not the only market caught off guard. S&P 500 futures fell 0.78% Sunday night. Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.6%. Dow Jones futures lost roughly 450 points, or about 0.89%. Oil moved in the opposite direction. With Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors for crude — oil futures surged more than 4.5%, pushing above $95 a barrel. Related Reading: Alibaba AI Model Puts XRP Price Between $7 And $42 By Year-End Ceasefire Expiry Puts Wednesday In Focus The coming days will likely determine where things head next. With Iran rejecting new negotiations and the ceasefire window closing fast, traders are watching closely. The brief rally Bitcoin enjoyed last week, built partly on hopes that US-Iran tensions were cooling, has been wiped out. At last check, Bitcoin was trading near $75,098. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView

Michael Saylor’s company has already lined up the money. Now the question is how much Bitcoin it plans to buy with it. Related Reading: Alibaba AI Model Puts XRP Price Between $7 And $42 By Year-End Saylor’s Signal Fires Up The Market Strategy’s executive chairman posted his well-known “Orange Dots” chart on X over the weekend, adding just three words: “Think even Bigger.” The chart maps every Bitcoin purchase the company has ever made. In crypto circles, its appearance has become a reliable preview of an imminent acquisition announcement — and Monday is the day Strategy most commonly makes those announcements public. The post landed after a string of major purchases. On April 13, Strategy spent $1 billion on Bitcoin. The week before that, it dropped $330 million. Both buying rounds were preceded by the same chart. This time, Saylor’s caption suggests the next move could top them both. A War Chest Already Sitting Ready The fuel for that purchase appears to already be in place. Strategy’s STRC instrument has raised enough capital to fund up to $1.76 billion in Bitcoin acquisitions, based on reports tracking the company’s fundraising activity. The company routinely uses proceeds from STRC to bankroll its Bitcoin buying program, so the timing of that capital raise lines up with the weekend post. At the time of writing, Strategy holds 780,897 Bitcoin across its corporate treasury. The company’s average purchase price sits at $75,577 per coin. At current market prices, the entire stash is valued at roughly $58 billion — a figure that would shift significantly with any large new purchase. Bitcoin Price Holds Flat Despite The News The market has not moved much on Saylor’s hint. Bitcoin was trading around $75,500, down less than 1% in the 24 hours following the post. Geopolitical pressure has been a drag on price action, with US President Donald Trump accusing Iran of violating ceasefire terms — a development that has kept risk appetite subdued across financial markets. Related Reading: XRP Expansion Into Solana Sparks Fresh Demand, Ripple CEO Says One signal watched closely by analysts did break out over the weekend, though. Bitcoin Dominance — the share of total crypto market value held by Bitcoin — pushed above a key resistance level on the three-day chart, clearing a descending trendline it had been stuck under for some time. Reports from crypto analysts indicate that if the breakout holds, more capital could rotate into Bitcoin at the expense of smaller coins. For Strategy’s playbook, that kind of market shift would not be unwelcome. Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView

A recent report has suggested that the digital assets market has likely entered its “crypto winter” after the sector’s market capitalization and trading volume continued to decline for a second consecutive quarter. Related Reading: Solana-Based Drift Protocol Announces $150M Recovery Fund, New Token Following Tether Collab Crypto Winter Arrives As Volumes Drop On Thursday, CoinGecko affirmed that the market transitioned from a sharp correction to a “sustained” crypto winter in Q1 2026. This shift occurred as the late 2025 bearish momentum collided with the onset of global geopolitical tensions in the first quarter of the year. According to its 2026 Q1 Crypto Industry Report, the total crypto market capitalization dropped around 20.4%, roughly $622 billion, ending the first quarter at $2.4 trillion and marking the second consecutive quarter of decline. This contraction, which accelerated between mid-January and early February, left the market around 45% below its October peak of $4.27 trillion. During this period, daily trading activity also declined by 27.2% Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ), with an average daily trading volume of $117.8 billion. Meanwhile, spot trading volume on the top 10 centralized exchanges (CEXes), including Binance, MEXC, KuCoin, and Bybit, decreased 39.1% QoQ to $2.7 trillion, seeing a notable decline by the end of Q1. Per CoinGecko data, volumes held above the $1 trillion mark in January, but fell throughout the quarter. With only $0.8 trillion in trading volume, March was the weakest month of Q1, recording the lowest levels since November 2023. While Binance maintained its dominance, with a 37% market share, MEXC was the only other exchange with a double-digit market share in Q1, at 10%. “All top 10 spot CEXes saw trading volume decline in Q1, with drops ranging from -23% to -55%. HTX saw the biggest slump, with its quarterly trading volume dropping to $133.6 billion in 2026 Q1 from $294.4 billion in 2025 Q4. Its market share fell to 4.9%, placing it in #10,” the report added. Majors Decline, Stablecoins Remain Flat Crypto market-wide declines continued in Q1, as majors pulled back for a second consecutive quarter. Bitcoin (BTC) fell 22% during the quarter but outperformed the other top five crypto assets by a narrow margin. However, it continued to underperform other major assets, including Oil, Gold, and the S&P 500. Ethereum (ETH), BNB, XRP, and Solana (SOL) recorded similar drawdowns as Bitcoin, which “weighed heavily on total market capitalization.” Legacy tokens such as Uniswap (UNI) and Chainlink (LINK) also faced continued pressure despite institutional adoption and gaining “digital commodity” status under the SEC-CFTC Joint Interpretive Guidance issued last month. The report noted that relative strength emerged amongst some altcoins after the Q4 2025 sell-off, including Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Bittensor (TAO), which outperformed the broader sector. Related Reading: Bitcoin Double Bottom Formation Eyes $82,500 Rally – Breakout Or Rejection Next? Meanwhile, the total stablecoin market capitalization stayed mostly flat in Q1, seeing a marginal 0.5% increase to end the quarter at $309.9 billion. During this period, Tether’s USDT saw its supply decline 1.6% to $184.1 billion, the first meaningful drop since Q2 2022. Circle’s USDC grew 2.4% to hit $77.1 billion, while Sky’s USDS and WLFI’s USD1 recorded double-digit growth. Nonetheless, stablecoin’s stability despite the challenging landscape for the broader crypto market in Q1 highlighted “the sector’s role as a liquidity anchor,” CoinGecko emphasized. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

The crypto market is buzzing after new speculation about a potential collaboration between Solana (SOL) and XRP spread across social media. This comes alongside claims of a wrapped XRP (wXRP) expansion into Solana-based decentralized finance. The developments have fueled debates among traders and analysts, with some pointing toward potential liquidity shifts and others highlighting their bullish impact on prices. If true, an integration between Solana and XRP could be the catalyst the market has been anticipating to push them toward much higher valuations.  Solana Drops “XRP” Bomb On X The team behind the Solana blockchain has triggered widespread discussion across the crypto market after a recent X post that referenced XRP. The post featured a short video accompanied by the curt text “XRP,” which immediately captured the attention of the Solana and XRP communities and generated over 1.8 million views at the time of writing.  Related Reading: Here’s How Solana And XRP ETFs Have Performed Compared To Bitcoin And Ethereum Many traders and analysts tried interpreting the cryptic post, with some questioning whether a deeper connection between the two blockchain ecosystems was being hinted at. Solana later followed with an even more teaser-like message, declaring that it was “time to flip the switch.” This further intensified debates and speculation that something significant could be coming for XRP and Solana.  Despite the excitement and chatter, there has been no official confirmation of a partnership or technical integration between Solana and the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Much of the reaction has come from interpretations within the crypto community, where cryptic marketing posts are often treated as potential signs of upcoming developments.  Some community members believe that Solana’s message could point to future interoperability or a merger between the two ecosystems. Others argue it may be attention-driven content designed to engage both the Solana and XRP communities without any underlying technical announcement. At the same time, some claim that a potential partnership or integration could be bullish for both cryptocurrencies’ prices.  Whatever the case, the Solana-related activity remains speculative and has not been backed by formal documentation from either ecosystem.  A Possible Integration Between Solana And XRP Separately on X, a pseudonymous crypto analyst, SMQKE, has drawn attention to a potential expansion of XRP utility on Solana-based DeFi platforms. The analyst shared a screenshot of a digital assets report published by AmplifyETFs, suggesting that XRP is poised to expand its functional use through the introduction of a wrapped XRP asset designed to operate within Solana’s decentralized applications (dApps).  Related Reading: XRP Is At A Critical Decision Point, But Can Price Still Rally To $2? SMQKE noted that the wXRP is backed 1:1 by native XRP and will be held in regulated custody through Hex Trust, with interoperability enabled by infrastructure connected to LayerZero, an omnichain protocol. The structure allows XRP holders to move value into the Solana ecosystem while maintaining the ability to redeem it back into native XRP on its ledger.  The significance of this development is that it could potentially extend XRP beyond its traditional role in payments and settlement. By becoming available within Solana DeFi platforms, XRP could be used in lending markets, liquidity pools, and trading systems that are more active than those typically associated with its native network. Featured image from Medium, chart from Tradingview.com

Charles Schwab is charging into the crypto space with fees lower than its closest rival — and a customer base that dwarfs most financial platforms in America. Related Reading: Bitcoin Pressure Builds As Miners Dump 32K BTC In Just 3 Months A Slow Roll, Not A Full Launch The Texas-based brokerage has begun offering spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading through its Schwab Crypto platform, operated via Charles Schwab Premier Bank. But don’t expect every customer to get access right away. The rollout starts with an internal employee pilot, moves to a client waitlist, then opens more broadly through the rest of Q2 2026. Customers in New York and Louisiana are currently left out. When it does fully open, the potential reach is staggering. Schwab manages close to $1.50 trillion in assets and holds accounts for up to 46 million active brokerage clients, served by 16,000 financial advisors. That kind of scale puts Schwab in a league of its own among brokerages now entering the crypto market. The firm set its trading fee at 0.75% — undercutting Fidelity Crypto’s 1% rate. Whether that gap is enough to pull customers from established platforms remains to be seen, but it gives Schwab a concrete edge on price. Robinhood Still Holds Some Ground Schwab won’t have the field to itself. Robinhood, which has been in the crypto trading space for years, offers more than 15 cryptocurrencies, operates in the EU and Asia-Pacific markets, and allows users to transfer crypto to external wallets. Schwab, for now, is starting with just Bitcoin and Ethereum. Reports indicate Schwab plans to add more cryptocurrencies down the line, along with AI tools, as it looks to capture a bigger share of demand from investors who want crypto alongside their traditional holdings. The brokerage described the crypto push as part of a broader effort to grow revenue sources. Earnings Miss Clouds An Otherwise Strong Quarter The crypto announcement landed on the same day Schwab posted its first-quarter 2026 results. Net revenue climbed 16% year over year to $6.48 billion — a record — but fell just short of the $6.50 billion analysts had expected. That narrow miss hit the stock hard. Shares of Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) dropped 7.70% on the day, trading at $92.51. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rally Faces First Test At $76K As Sellers Step In: Analysts Bitcoin touched $75,000 on the same day, pushed higher by strong inflows into spot ETFs and optimism around a potential US-Iran ceasefire. Ethereum moved in the opposite direction, slipping 0.75% to $2,355 after a large holder offloaded roughly 120,000 ETH — nearly $60 million worth — taking profit on a long position. Schwab’s entry adds another major name to the growing list of traditional financial institutions now offering direct access to crypto assets, bringing Bitcoin and Ethereum further into the mainstream of everyday investing. Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin traders are already betting the wider US-Iran ceasefire will hold. Data from prediction market Polymarket puts the odds of a permanent peace deal by April 22 at 23%. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rally Faces First Test At $76K As Sellers Step In: Analysts Markets React To Diplomatic Breakthrough That confidence is showing up in Bitcoin’s price. The world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed to $74,650 on Thursday, bouncing back from an intraday low of around $73,050, according to TradingView data. The move came within hours of US President Donald Trump announcing a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon — a deal that had been quietly taking shape following direct talks between the two countries on US soil the day before. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, saying both sides had agreed to begin the truce immediately as part of broader efforts toward lasting peace. Short. Direct. And enough to move markets. Nuclear Talks Add To Optimism The Israel-Lebanon deal matters beyond its own terms. Iran had made clear it would walk away from its own ceasefire agreement with the US if Israeli strikes on Lebanon did not stop. With that condition now met, the path to a second round of US-Iran peace talks looks more open. Reports from Pakistani mediators indicate a major step forward on Iran’s nuclear program, which was the main sticking point when the two sides failed to reach a deal in the first round of negotiations last weekend. Bitcoin had already touched a multi-month peak of $76,000 earlier this week, driven by growing optimism that the US-Iran conflict could wind down. The war had weighed heavily on risk assets from its early days, with rising oil prices stoking inflation fears that kept investors cautious. As those concerns ease, money has started moving back into crypto. Ceasefire Extension In Focus Tensions remain, even if they have softened. Trump’s decision to blockade the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week rattled nerves, though markets have since stabilized. The window for a resolution is narrow. Both the US-Iran truce and the newly announced Israel-Lebanon ceasefire are short-term arrangements, not permanent agreements. Related Reading: ‘Extremely Good News’ – XRP DeFi Momentum Builds As SEC Softens Position On Interfaces Still, the mood among traders has shifted. Pakistani officials are said to be shuttling communications between Washington and Tehran ahead of a potential second round of talks. Based on reports, both governments continue to engage through back channels even as formal negotiations pause. Whether the ceasefires hold — and whether they grow into something more durable — will likely determine where Bitcoin heads next. Featured image from ddnews.gov.in, chart from TradingView

Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Drift Protocol has shared the highly anticipated user recovery plan alongside Tether and other collaborators. This move follows the major exploit that drained $285 million from the project’s vaults two weeks ago. Related Reading: Bitcoin Double Bottom Formation Eyes $82,500 Rally – Breakout Or Rejection Next? Drift Protocol Secures $150M Recovery Fund On Thursday, Drift Protocol, the largest decentralized perpetual futures exchange on the Solana blockchain, announced a collaboration with Tether and other partners to establish a “structured recovery plan backed by up to nearly $150 million in combined support” and relaunch with USDT “at the center.” According to the announcement, the funds include a $100 million revenue-linked credit line, an ecosystem grant, and loans to market makers, all intended to finance a dedicated user recovery pool. As NewsBTC reported, the Solana-based DEX suffered an exploit that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from its vaults on April 1. The attack took around $285 million in multiple crypto assets and became the largest exploit of 2026 to date. During the initial phase of the collaboration, a significant portion of exchange revenue, together with committed support capital, will be intended to fund this recovery pool, Drift explained, noting that any stolen funds recovered would be contributed to the pool. In addition, Drift revealed that it will issue a new token for the affected users to “streamline distribution of recovery assets as well as provide liquidity opportunities for impacted users.” The token will be a dedicated recovery token, separate from the DRIFT governance token, that is intended to represent a claim on the recovery pool and will be transferable. Solana DEX Eyes Hardened Security Framework The Solana-based project shared that it will harden its security, passing each component through independent audits by OtterSec and Asymmetric Research before relaunching the protocol. It will also introduce a new community-governed multisig to manage core protocol assets, requiring all multisig signers to operate on dedicated signing devices with transaction content independently verified outside the primary signing interface before any signature is executed. This aims to prevent similar attacks on the project. It’s worth noting that the malicious actors gained unauthorized access to Drift Protocol by manipulating its multisig approvals using Solana durable nonces. “The attack involved unauthorized or misrepresented transaction approvals obtained prior to execution, likely facilitated through durable nonce mechanisms and sophisticated social engineering,” the project explained on its first report. Since then, Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has identified multiple indicators suggesting that the exploit is linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), while Drift has affirmed that the exploit was a six-month operation to infiltrate the protocol’s inner circle and compromise their devices. USDT Settlements ‘At The Center’ Of Drift The project also detailed that it will relaunch with Tether’s USDT for settlements. Tether reportedly proposed to extend a USDT support facility to designated market makers “to reinforce deep, liquid markets from day one.” “Drift’s decision to integrate USD₮ into the relaunch and recovery of a major trading venue on Solana reinforces Tether’s role as a reliable settlement asset within the Solana ecosystem,” Tether stated. The shift from USDC to USDT settlement represents a significant change, following Circle’s decision not to freeze the stolen USDC during the initial attack. Notably, the exploiter swapped $270.9 million of the stolen assets into USDC within hours, bridged them from Solana to Ethereum via the CCTP TokenMessengerMinterV2, and purchased 129,000 ETH, splitting them across multiple wallets. Related Reading: Bitmine’s Ethereum Holdings Hits 4% Supply Milestone After 71,524 ETH Buy At the time, multiple investors and on-chain investigators urged Circle to freeze the funds, with crypto sleuth ZachXBT slamming the stablecoin issuer for its repeated “inaction” over the past few years. Circle has since addressed the backlash, affirming that it does not act “unilaterally or arbitrarily” and freeze funds when “the law requires us to act.” Drift concluded that “this is the first step toward making users whole over time and toward building back stronger than where we were before.” Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Japan’s biggest loyalty program may have just become one of crypto’s most unexpected entry points. Related Reading: Bitcoin Could Hit $85K Before April Ends, Analyst Says A Rewards System Worth $23 Billion Opens Up Rakuten is sitting on more than 3 trillion loyalty points — valued at roughly $23 billion — and users can now convert those points into XRP. That single detail changes the nature of this integration. It is not just another tech company adding a crypto option. It is an existing, widely used rewards system being turned into a direct path into digital currency, no exchange account required. Reports confirmed the points-to-XRP conversion feature is part of the rollout inside the Rakuten Pay app and Rakuten Wallet. The announcement pushed XRP to $1.38, with the token’s market cap climbing above $84 billion. Trading volume came in at $2.4 billion over the past 24 hours, though that figure was down 25% from the prior period. ????IT’S OFFICIAL: XRP is LIVE for 44 million users on one of the largest wallets in Japan, Rakuten Wallet. Enabling users purchasing anything by using #XRP! pic.twitter.com/pOd9CNXpTe — JackTheRippler ©️ (@RippleXrpie) April 15, 2026 44 Million Users, 5 Million Merchant Locations The scale of Rakuten’s network is what makes this stand out. Around 44 million users will be able to hold XRP in the Rakuten Wallet, buy it with loyalty points, and fund Rakuten Cash to spend in physical stores and online. That covers more than 5 million merchant locations across Japan. Users can also spot trade XRP directly inside the app. Rakuten had already added Bitcoin, Ether, and Bitcoin Cash in earlier phases. XRP now joins that group inside one of Japan’s largest consumer platforms — one that most of its users visit for shopping, not for investing. Ripple’s senior ecosystem growth manager Tatsuya Kohrogi called this one of the most significant milestones for XRP, pointing out that Rakuten Pay is a mainstream commerce app, not a product built for crypto users. That means XRP is being placed in front of tens of millions of people who may have never bought or held digital currency before. Related Reading: ‘Extremely Good News’ – XRP DeFi Momentum Builds As SEC Softens Position On Interfaces Whether Everyday Shoppers Follow Matters Most XRP has long been associated with institutional cross-border payments. A move into retail point-of-sale spending in Japan marks a clear shift in how the token is showing up in real-world use. Based on reports, analysts see the potential as real but conditional. The bigger question is not whether Rakuten has the infrastructure — it clearly does. The question is whether ordinary shoppers choose XRP when it is time to pay, or stick to yen and existing payment methods they already trust. If even a fraction of that $23 billion in loyalty points finds its way into XRP and circulates through everyday commerce, it could push other large consumer platforms to take a closer look at similar moves. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

A crypto analyst has sparked fresh debate after warning investors to consider swapping their Bitcoin (BTC) for XRP. He argues that the shifting global reserve standards could reshape which digital assets gain institutional favor, potentially positioning XRP as a stronger candidate for long-term adoption. The analyst’s comments align with the central bank’s strict reserve policies, highlighting Bitcoin’s limitations.  Crypto Analyst Tells Investors To Dump BTC For XRP Crypto commentator and XRP advocate John Squire is urging investors to dump their Bitcoin for XRP. In a recent X post, Squire shared a video featuring a discussion by the European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde on central bank reserve policy.  Related Reading: Don’t Celebrate Bitcoin Price Above $70,000, Analyst Says It’s “Very, Very Bad” During the discussion, Largarde reiterated that Bitcoin (BTC) is unlikely to meet the requirements for inclusion in official reserve holdings. The declaration has triggered a wave of reaction across the crypto community, reopening debates about how digital assets fit into the global financial system. This rejection of Bitcoin as a reserve asset in the European Central Bank is the primary reason Squire is urging investors to pivot to XRP. He likely believes that shifting regulatory and institutional preferences could favor XRP over BTC in the long term.  Notably, as the world’s largest and most recognized cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has often been touted as a reserve currency despite its volatility and unpredictable nature. Because of its dominant position and widespread institutional adoption, the US government has also repeatedly hinted that Bitcoin could become a strategic reserve currency. However, the same is not true in Europe, where regulators have taken a more cautious, skeptical stance toward Bitcoin, making its inclusion at the ECB far less likely in the near future. Why Bitcoin Does Not Qualify As An ECB Reserve Asset During her discussion, Largarde outlined reasons why the ECB has chosen to exclude Bitcoin entirely from its reserve holdings. She indicated that Bitcoin does not meet the criteria that central banks require for reserve currencies. According to her, Central Bank reserves must remain liquid, secure, and free from concerns linked to illicit activity and financial risks.  Related Reading: Why XRP Price Is About To Stage The Breakout Of The Decade Largarde also noted that reserve assets must prioritize stability and trust within the global financial system, reinforcing the cautious stance banks and financial institutions continue to take toward digital assets like Bitcoin. Her remarks quickly drew attention from the crypto community via Squire’s X account. Many market participants debated which digital asset, if any, could align more closely with future reserve settlement frameworks. While some community members agree with Squire to dump their Bitcoin for XRP, others suggest diversifying into both digital assets to mitigate risk. Regardless of the final decision, Largarde’s statements highlight the continued skepticism surrounding cryptocurrencies. Her comments do not represent a direct policy change but rather a reaffirmation of existing central bank principles in the EU. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

Hyperliquid’s HIP‑3 open interest is pushing toward the multi‑billion mark, led by not just crypto perps but synthetic equities and index products. Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 New ATH Following Bitget Wallet integration of Hyperliquid’s HIP‑3 infrastructure at the beginning of the month, The Block claimed today that its data indicates that only three of Hyperliquid’s ten most‑traded markets are still crypto pairs: the rest are futures tied to tokenized stocks and commodities. Open interest on Hyperliquid’s HIP‑3 markets set a new record at about $2.38 billion last week, before easing to just under $2.1 billion by Wednesday —a modest 12% slide that tracks the broader risk‑off shift across markets. This sits inside a broader Hyperliquid open interest of around $8B across the platform. Related Reading: Bitcoin Double Bottom Formation Eyes $82,500 Rally – Breakout Or Rejection Next? Let’s remember that HIP‑3 consists in permissionless perps where builders stake HYPE to spin up their own markets, including synthetic equity indices, single‑stock style perps, and macro baskets. Traders get stock‑like exposure with leverage, no closing bell, and on‑chain custody, plus cross‑margining against crypto and commodities in a single venue. An Intensive Growth HIP‑3’s expansion has been explosive. The data suggests that open interest has vaulted from roughly $280 million at the start of the year to above $1 billion in under a month and then over $2 billion by quarter‑end, a jump of about 580% year‑to‑date. TradeXYZ (a decentralized perpetuals platform built on Hyperliquid) is driving the move, accounting for more than 90% of all HIP‑3 open interest.  HIP-3 Daily Open Interest by DEX. Source: The Block. The real inflection point for HIP-3 is around $5 billion in open interest, The Block says. Once it reaches that zone, the markets throw off enough flow and depth to start looking viable for professional market‑making firms that currently focus on CME and CBOE products Just three of the ten busiest markets by volume are still crypto pairs on the leading perp DEX itself. The rest are futures tied to tokenized equity and commodities. This includes Nasdaq‑style indices, oil, gold, silver, and the S&P 500. What Traders Should Look For Hyperliquid is positioning as a de facto global macro venue where crude, gold, FX and now tokenized equities all trade side by side, with traditional media already using its prices as early signals. Related Reading: Retail Investors Are The Only Ones Panicking About Bitcoin, Here’s what The Big Dogs Are Doing There’s a strong chance HIP‑3 eventually moves beyond perpetuals into spot tokenized stocks. Such a shift that would put it in much more direct competition with traditional equity exchanges and almost certainly force regulators to react faster. For interested traders, HIP‑3 markets give high‑beta, always‑on equity exposure with CEX‑like depth, but with DEX‑style self‑custody and protocol risk layered on top. It would be wise to watch HIP‑3 open interest versus spot volumes, the growth in equity‑linked perps share and any regulatory headlines that could re‑price the tokenization trade overnight. At the moment of writing, HYPE trades for $45 on the daily chart. Source: HYPEUSDT on Tradingview. Cover image from Perplexity. BTCUSD chart from Tradingview.